Golfer&#39;s turf-repairing implement and carrier therefor



y 25, 1955 1.. H. KLYNMAN 3,185,483

GOLFERS TURF-REPAIRING IMPLEMENT AND CARRIER THEREFOR Filed June 6, 1965 INVENTOR:

F5 LEONARb H. KLYNMAN 7 ATTORNEYS I a putting green.

United States Patent 3,185,483 GOLFERS TURF-REPAIRING LMPLEMENT AND CARRIER THEREFOR Leonard H. Klynman, 117 E. Bayshore Blvd., Jacksonville, N.C. Filed June 6, 1963, Ser. No. 286,082 6 Claims. (Cl. 273-462) This invention relates to the game of golf and, more specifically, to a turf-repairing implement particularly adapted to be utilized by golfers for eliminating ball-scars encountered upon putting greens while participating in the game of golf.

A :ball-scar is an indentation formed in the turf surface of a putting green by a golf balls impact therewith following an approach shot. On a heavily played course, a large number of these indentations may be formed in the surface of a putting green in a single day, particularly when invention is the provision of an implement particularly adapted for use by golfers in removing ball-scars from the turf surfaces of putting greens and the like.

.A related and more specific object is the provision of an implement of the type described which is of simple, economical, compact and durable construction, and which is capable of being utilized by a golfer to effect the removal of ball-scars with maximum ease and speed and with minimum disturbance of the turf surface of the green.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a convenient carrier for a turf-repairing implement of the type described, which carrier is so constructed as tosecurely house the implement when not in use, but into and from which the implement can be quickly and easily inserted and withdrawn when desired without the aid of any extraneous tools or devices whatsoever.

A more specific object is the provision of a carrier of the aforementioned type which is in the form of a golf club, particularly a putter, such that the turf repairing implement carried thereby will always be readily available for use by a golfer encountering a ball-scar while examining the turf surface of a green preparatory to putting.

Still other objects and advantages will be in part evident and in part pointed out hereinafter in the following description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention, which should be read in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawing, in which: r

FIGURE 1 is a top perspective view of aturf-repairing implement constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIGURESZ and 3 are, respectively, rear and side elevations of the putter head and a part of the shart of a putter constituting a carrier within which the implement of FIGURE 1 is housed;

FIGURE 4 is ,a vertical section taken approximately along line 44 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 shows a golfer utilizing the implement of FIGURE 1 to remove a ball-scar from the turf surface of Referring more particularly to the drawing, in. FIG- URES 2 and 3 the numeral lildesignates the shaft of a putter which further includes a putter head 12 having a .forward, putting face 14, a rear face 16, and side faces 18,

i 12 by inserting leading end portion 28 of the former with- 7 3,185,483 Patented May 25, 1965 and the head 12 thereof possesses a specific sinuous shape, the putter might equally well be for a left-handed golfer and have a head of rectangular, cylindrical or other shape. So as to render putter head 12 capable of carrying the turf-repairing implement subsequently described herein, there is formed within its rear face 16 a longitudinally extending slot 22 which includes a first, outermost part 22" and a second, undercut part 22'. Slot 22 opens at one end through side face 18 of putter head 12, and at its opposite end preferably terminates just short of side face 26 of the putter head (see FIGURES 2 and 4).

Referring now primarily to FIGURE 1, the turf-repairing implement adapted to be removably housed within slot 22 of putter head 12 consists of a strip-like, generally rectangular member 24 having a substantially flat main body portion 26 with integral leading and trailing end portions 28, 30, respectively, extending angularly upwardly therefrom. Member 24 is formed of chromium vanadium steel or other non-rusting metal and, while substantially rigid, possesses sufiicient resiliency to allow limited deflection of end portions 23, 30 relativeto its body portion 26. To facilitate its insertion into the turf ofa putting green, the leading end portion 28 of member 24 is bifurcated so as to define parallel forks, and its terminal edges 32 are curved and sharpened, as shown. Abutment means in the form of a stud 34 and pad 36 are mounted upon and carried by body portion 26 of member 24. Stud 34 isformed integral with or secured rigidly to the upper 40, pad 36 has the general shape of a right rectangular solid with its major faces parallel to the plane of body portion 26 of member 24.

Referring now once again primarily to FIGURES 2-4,

strip-likemember 24 is adapted to be removably housed within undercut part 22' of slot 22 of putter-head 12, and

the length of the former is therefore slightlyless than the length of the latter, while the width of member 24 is slightly less than the width w of undercut part 22' of slot 22. The depth d of undercut part 22' of slot 22 is slightly less than the distance between a first imaginary plane extending through the lower surface of body portion 26 of member 24 and a second, parallel plane extending between the uppermost points on end portion 28, 30 of member 24, when that member is in its relaxed or non-deflected condition illustrated in FIGURE 1. The diameter and length of stud 340i the abutment means upon body portion 26 of member 24 are such that when the latter is housed within undercut part 22' of slot 22, as shown in FIGURES 2-4,

stud 34 extends freely through the narrower part 22 of slot 22, and its outer end and pad 36 are disposed outwardly of, but closely adjacent to, rear face 16 of head 12.

Strip-like member 24 is positioned within putter head putter in the open end of undercut part 22' of slot 22, and then sliding member 24 toward side face 20 of the putter head until edge 32 of end portion 28 abuts the closed end of disease 3 end portions 28, 30 of member 24 to return to their norare non-deflected positions urges the same and body portion 26 into firm engagement with opposed surfaces or undercut portion 22' of slot 22, and thus positively ina-in'tains member 24 within slot 22 until such time as it"s reinoval therefrom is desired.

' During its abbve-discussed insertion into slot 2% strip- Ziise nre'rnber24 is of course positioned in such a manner that stud 34 is received within part 22 of the slot. The nsertion of mnnserm within slot 22 isaccomplished, particuiafry during the final movement of the fdfin'di" pensive to the latter, by a golfer positibfiiiig one of his ingers or thumbs upon concave side 38 of pad 36 and exertinga force thereon toward face of putter head 12; Snail-any, removal of strip-like member 24 from slot :22 is achieved simply by a golfer positioning one of his fingers or thumbs upon concave side 46 of pad 36 and exerting a force toward face the putter head.

in addition to enabling strip-like manner 24 to be readily positioned in and removed from slot 22, the abutmer t means including pad 36 also facilitates the indended ptil zation pr se im lement of FIGURE 1. As is shown in Fi GURE 5, a golfer utilizing the implement to repair a ball-scar upon the turf surface of a green preferably s'I' hS-ps member 24 in such a manner that his palm en'- closes end portion and the adjacent section at body portion 26, and his thumb abuts concave side 33 of pad 36. With the implement held in this manner, leading end portion 28 of member 24 is then inserted into the turf surface of the green adjacent the periphery of the ball scar by the golfer exerting a force upon side 33 of pad o with his thumb. Such insertion can rgadily accom- Pushed th minimal efiefi. and disturbance of the turf 231a? iby reason of the previously discussed ,8, E r ened and bifurcated construction of leading f2 portion 28 of member 24. After leading end portion 28 of member 24 has been inserted into the turf, trailing end portion 30 is pivoted downwardly by the hand f the golfer a sufiicient distance to raise the de- Pressed turf forming the ball-scar. It will be appreciated thatthe pivotal movement necessary to accomplish this result is minimized by the angular relationship existing between portions 26 28 of member 24. Once the turf surface of the green has been thus restored to its desired,

smooth condition, the implement of FIGURE 1 is again I housed within the putter, where it remains securely until again needed, and the golfer proceeds with his putting slll'pka it will thus be seen that the instant invention provides 'a golfing accessory realizing the benefits and possessing the advantages hereinbefore noted. The implement of FIGURE 1 is of compact, economical and durable con- 'struction and enables a golfer to repair or remove ballscars with maximum ease and speed and with minimum disturbance of the turf surface of the green. When housed in the manner shown and described within a putter head, it is always readily available for use by a golfer, being easily removable from the putter head Without the assistance of any tools or other extraneous devices, but in no way impairs the golfers use of the putter or the putting stroke.

In the drawing and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, since numerous modifications of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance, although a putter head constitutes the preferred carrier for the turf-repairing implement, any solid body slotted in the manner herein described might also be utilized for this purpose. The scope of the invention should therefore be construed only in accordance with the following claims.

That which is claimed is:

1. In combination with a putter including a putter head having rear and side faces, said rear face of said putter head having a slot extending generally longitudinally thereof and opening at one end tli rough one o'fsaid side faces of said putter head, and said slot includinga first, outermost part and a second, undercut, part, a turf-reg pairing implement adapted to be utilizedby a golfer in removing ball-scars and thelike from putting greens, said implement comprising an elongate strip-like member having a substantially fiat main body portion and leading and trailing end portions extending angularly upwardly from said main body portion, said member being sufliciently resilient to permit limited deflection of said leading and trailing end portions toward the plane of said main body portion thereof, said leading end portio of said member be bifurcated and sharpened for insertion into the abutment means mounted on and extending upwardly from said main body portion of said member, said strip-like member being adapted to be removably housed within said undercut part of said slot of said putter head and being adapted for insertion therein and removal therefrom through said one end of said slot, said abutment means on said main body portion of said member projecting through said slot re'ar'war'dly of said rear face of said putter head said member is housed within said undercut part of said slot, and said abutment means being engageable by a portion of a hand of the golfer to facilitate insertion and removal of said elongate member into and from said undercut part of said slot and to facilitate insertion of said leading end portion of said member into the turf to be repaired.

2, in a combination as in claim 1, wherein said abutment means comprises a stud mounted centrally upon and extending normally from the upper surface of said main body portion of said member, and a pad carried by said stud, said pad having a first concave side facing said trailing end portion of said member and a second concaveside facing said leading end portion of said memher, and wherein said concave sides of said pad are engagab'le by a portion of a hand of the golfer.- I

3. In a combination as in claim 1, wherein the dimen sions of said undercut part of said slot are such as to cause limited deflection of said leading and trailing end portions of said member toward the plane of said main body portion thereof upon insertion of said member into said undercut part of said slot, and wherein snug engagement between opposed surfaces of said slot and said member housed therein is maintained by the tendency of said leading and trailing end portions to return to nondeflected positions.

4. In combination, a turf-repairing implement adapted to be utilized by a golfer in removing ball-scars and the like from putting greens, and a carrier therefor, said carrier comprising a putter including a putter head having rear and side faces, said rear face of said putter head having a slot extending generally longitudinally thereof and opening at one end through one of said side faces of said putter head, and said turf-repairing implement comprising an elongate substantially rigid member having a sharpened leading end portion, said elongate member be ing adapted to be removably housed Within said slot and inserted therein and removed therefrom through said one end of said slot, and abutment means carried by and extending transversely from said elongate member, said abutment means projecting through said slot rearwardly of said rear face of said putter head when said elongate member is housed within said slot, and said abutment means being engageable by a portion of a hand of the golfer to facilitate insertion and removal of said elongate member into and from said slot and to facilitate use of said implement in removing ball-scars.

5. In combination, a turf-repairing implement adapted to be utilized by a golfer in removing ball-scars and the like from putting greens, and a carrier therefor, said carrier comprising a solid body having an elongate major face and an adjacent transversely-extending side face, said 5 major face of said body having a slot extending longitudinally thereof and opening at one end through said side face of said body, said slot including a first, outermost part and a second, undercut part, and said turf- 3 repairing implement comprising an elongate strip-like member having a substantially flat main body portion and an integral leading end portion extending forwardly and angularly upwardly from saidmain body portion, said member being sufiiciently resilient, to permit limited deflection of said leading end portion toward the plane of said main body portion thereof, said leading end portion of said member being sharpened for insertion into the turf, a stud mounted upon and extending normally from the upper surface of said main body portion of said member, and a pad upon the upper end of said stud, said member being adapted to be removably housed within said undercut part of said slot of said body and being adapted for insertion therein and complete removal therefrom through said one end of said slot, said undercut part of said slot being dimensioned so as to cause limited deflection of said leading end portion of said member toward the plane of said main body portion thereof upon insertion of said member into said undercut part of said slot whereby said member tends to be maintained within said undercut part of said slot by the tendency of said leading end portion thereof to return to non-deflected position, said stud upon said mainbody portion of said member projecting outwardly from said slot beyond saidmajor face of said body when said member is housed within said slot, and said pad upon said stud being engageable by a portion of a hand of the golfer to facilitateinsertion and removal of said member into and from said slot and to facilitate insertion of said leading end portion of said member into the turf to be repaired.

snsaase her being bifurcated and the terminal edge thereof being curved and sharpened for insertion into the turf, a stud mounted in the approximate center of and extending normally from the upper surface of said main body portion of said member, and a pad upon the outer end of said stud having a concave side facing said trailing end portion of said member, said concave side of said pad being engageable by the thumb of a hand of a golfer grasping said trailing end portion of said member to faci1itate insertion of said leading end portion of said member into the turf to be repaired.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner. 

4. IN COMBINATION, A TURF-REPAIRING IMPLEMENT ADAPTED TO BE UTILIZED BY A GOLFER IN REMOVING BALL-SCARS AND THE LIKE FROM PUTTING GREENS, AND A CARRIER THEREFOR, SAID CARRIER COMPRISING A PUTTER INCLUDING A PUTTER HEAD HAVING REAR AND SIDE FACES, SAID REAR FACE OF SAID PUTTER HEAD HAVING A SLOT EXTENDING GENERALLY LONGITUDINALLY THEREOF AND OPENING AT ONE END THROUGH ONE OF SAID SIDE FACES OF SAID PUTTER HEAD, AND SAID TURF-REPAIRING IMPLEMENT COMPRISING AN ELONGATED SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID MEMBER HAVING A SHARPENED LEADING END PORTION, SAID ELONGATE MEMBER BEING ADAPTED TO BE REMOVABLY HOUSED WITHIN SAID SLOT AND INSERTED THEREIN AND REMOVED THEREFROM THROUGH SAID ONE END OF SAID SLOT, AND ABUTMENT MEANS CARRIED BY AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY FROM SAID ELONGATE MEMBER, SAID ABUTMENT MEANS PROJECTING THROUGH SAID SLOT REAWARDLY OF SAID REAR FACE OF SAID PUTTER HED WHEN SAID ELONGATE MEMBER IS HOUSED WITHIN SAID SLOT, AND SAID ABUTMENT MEANS BEING ENGAGEABLE BY A PORTION OF A HAND OF THE GOLFER TO FACILITATE INSERTION AND REMOVAL OF SAID ELONGATE MEMBER INTO AND FROM SAID SLOT AND TO FACILITATE USE OF SAID IMPLEMENT IN REMOVING BALL-SCARS. 